Caught Between Love and Hate
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: A vampire Bella makes it to Forks and meets the Cullens only to find that she's met two of them before. One of them she thought was dead and the other she hates yet can't help but feel a connection to. Is it a misunderstand or is Bella's hatred justified? And will Love win out in the end?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Caught Between Love and Hate**

**Bella's POV**

I pulled my red mustang into the Forks High school parking lot. It was my first day at the school. Normally I didn't start at a new school in the middle of the year, but I was growing board of my old school and needed a change.

After parking my car, I went inside the building and to the office. I was met by a woman behind the desk.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked.

"Hi, I'm Isabella Swan. I'm new," I told the woman. That was me. Well, sort of. I went by  
Bella and my last name was not really Swan. I hadn't gone by my real last name in decades. It would be too suspicious. It wouldn't do well for a person to keep appearing with the same name for seventy years and never age.

See, I am a vampire and have been since the 1930s. I was attacked by a vampire after running away from the orphanage I'd lived since I was eight and my father was killed. I barely managed to escape the encounter with my life. Well, so to speak anyway. I guess technically I wasn't alive, but I wasn't totally dead either.

I wasn't as surprised as one might think by the attack. I'd encountered a vampire before. In fact, I'd watched it murder my father. I didn't know then that it was a vampire, but I knew that it wasn't natural or human. So I wasn't too shocked when I learned what I was.

I was finally brought back to the present by the woman handing me a schedule. I took the offered item, thanked her, and walked away.

I looked at my schedule and saw that I had advance Calculus first, which was actually a grade ahead of where I should be. I was an average student when I was alive, but I'd had seventy years worth of practice to become above average.

After some minimal difficulty, I found my class and walked inside. As soon as I got there, I caught a scent. A scent that was very distinguishable. It was that of vampires. I searched the room with my eyes and stopped on two students, one sitting just in front of the other.

The first one I saw was a tall man with blond hair who had several scars on his body. The second was a beautiful girl with long blond hair who seemed to like glaring at everyone. It was them. They were the other vampires.

It honestly shocked me. I'd never heard of any other vampire attending high school. It also worried me. Every other vampire I ever came across was a human drinker. See, I wasn't. I survived off animal blood. I could never bring myself to take a human life because of what I saw happen to my father. I doubted these two had any such qualms. They were most likely human drinkers, and if that was the case, everyone in this school was at risk.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the teacher speaking to me. "Isabella Swan, I presume?"

I finally pulled away from the two vampires and towards the human instructor. "Uh, yes, sir, that's me."

"Okay, good, I was expecting you. Have a seat in back," he said as he pointed to an empty seat at the back of the room.

I quickly did as he was told and sat down.

"Alright, open your text books to page sixty-four." The teacher said.

I took out my book and turned to said page, all the while stealing glances at the two vampires.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

**Jasper's POV**

I walked with Rosalie to our Calculus class and sat down in my assigned seat. As usual Rose sat in front back of me. It was a pretty normal day for us. That was until the new student walked in. We had been expecting the new girl. It was all anyone talked about for weeks. Very little happened in Forks, so when something like a new student was mentioned, it went all around school.

What I wasn't expecting was that the new girl would be a vampire. I smelled it all over her the second she walked in. She was like Rose and me.

"Jasper," Rose whispered to me in tone that only I could here. It was obvious that she noticed as well.

"I know, Rose. I see her. I can't get a look at her eyes though." Her eyes would tell me definitively if she drank from humans. I didn't really expect otherwise. There were very few vegetarians in the world. In fact, aside from the Denali coven, I hadn't met another.

"Do you honestly think she's anything but a human drinker?" Rose asked skeptically.

"It doesn't really matter at the moment. We can't do anything about it now," I told her. Confronting the nomad here would be pure suicide. They would be exposed be subject to a visit from the Volturi.

I decided to get a message to Edward. He was close enough to hear my thoughts and could get to Alice and Emmett faster than we could. _'Edward, I need you to meet Rose and me outside our Calculus class. With have a situation in the form of a new vampire student.' _I just hoped nothing exciting would happen between now and then.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

After class, I immediately rushed out. I knew the two vampires would follow me. I wanted them to. We needed to chat somewhere humans weren't around

About halfway towards the exit, I realized that the vampire sent had intensified. There were more of them. I wasn't sure how many more because my back was turned to them, but definitely more than one. It didn't change anything though. I still had to get them away from the students. I couldn't take the risk of them getting hurt if it was in my power to stop it.

I led them all out of the building and towards the parking lot. I got all the way out to my car before finally turning around to face them. There were the two from class, plus a small black haired girl and a large bare like guy. It was the bronze haired one that interested me the most though. I had seen his face before. On the monster that murdered my father.


	2. Chapter 2

**Bella's POV**

I continued to stare at the monster in front of me. That was how I considered him. Not a human, not a vampire, just a monster. How else could I think of the soulless thing that murdered my father? And I knew that it was him. His face had never left my brain. As a human, it would frequently haunt my dreams.

I could kill him. I'd considered all the ways that I would kill him. When I was human, they were very creative and bloody. When I became a vampire and realized what he was, I just imagined literally tearing him limb from limb and letting them burn slowly and painfully.

I was soon pulled from my homicidal thoughts by the small black haired vampire approaching me. "Hi, I'm Alice."

I was quiet for a moment, but finally spoke. "Bella."

"Sorry we followed you. Jasper and Rosalie hadn't seen your eyes and were worried you would attack the students," Alice said.

It was then that I noticed their eyes. I probably would've realized it before if it weren't for the blind, hot rage I was trying to keep under control. Their eyes were as gold as mine, even the monster's. That surprised me. The first time I saw him, they were blood red. Now there wasn't a trace of redness in them. It had to be some kind of trick or something though. There was no way he wasn't a human drinker.

"We don't see many other vegetarians, so we kind of assumed. I'm Jasper by the way," the curly blond one from class said as extended his hand.

I took it after a second. "Well, I thought the same about you, so it's understandable."

"That's Rosalie, Emmett, and the one on the end is Edward," Jasper said as he pointed to each of them.

I eyed the monster once more. So his name was Edward. It sounded so normal. Like he was an actual person. Well, I supposed everyone had a name. I would never see him as Edward though. I would never see him as anything but a monster.

"Listen, we should probably all talk, but this isn't the right place. How about you come to our house after school and meet our parents?" Alice asked.

I raised an eyebrow at the word 'parents'. I'd never heard any other vampire speak about meeting parents. I could only assume they meant other vampires who were like parents, as no vampire could live with another human without revealing their secret.

Normally I wouldn't agree to such a thing, but I had never met another vampire like me and I was frankly curious. "Sure, why not?"

"Great, we'll meet you here after school. In the meantime, we should all get to class. What do you have next?" Alice asked.

I looked at my schedule for a second before answering. "Biology."

"Oh, what a coincidence. That's what Eddie has. Maybe he can show you there," Emmett said with a goofy grin.

I got the feeling he was trying to set us up. Like that would ever happen. The very idea made me sick. The only thing I was interesting in with this thing was ending his pathetic existence. "That's not necessary."

"It's not a problem. Like Emmett said, I'm going there anyway," the monster said to me.

I was a bit taken aback by his voice. It was velvety and soft. I expected his voice to be more husky and cruel, like those killers you saw on TV. "Well, I suppose that would be alright."

We all started going our separate ways. I went with the monster inside the building and towards our Biology class. It was difficult to walk with him. It was difficult to be this close to him without killing him.

"So how long have you been what you are?" The monster who called himself Edward asked in a low voice that only a vampire could hear.

"Over seventy years. You?" I asked. The idea of speaking to him like this made me want to vomit, but I had to keep my cool. He would get his eventually, but I had to bide my time. The last thing I needed was a bunch of other vampires after me.

"Little over ninety," he said.

"And you were always… What did your 'brother' call it? A vegetarian?" I asked.

"No, not always."

For a second I thought I heard guilt in his voice. But I must have imagined it. He certainly didn't feel any guilt when he drank my father dry.

"We're here," the monster informed me.

We walked inside and I immediately went to the teacher, who, much to my chagrin informed me that I would be seated next to and partnered up with the monster for the duration of the year. As if this day couldn't get any worse.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Somehow I managed to get through Biology, and the rest of the day, without tearing the monster's head off his body and I met him and his 'family' in the parking lot.

"Are we ready to go?" Alice asked.

"Yeah. I'll follow you," I told them.

"Okay, but I hope you drive fast or you'll lose us," Emmett said with a grin.

I returned his grin. "Is there any other kind of way?"

They all laughed and headed for a silver Volvo that was right across from me.

I got in my car and waited for them to pull out. Then I followed them.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

We made it to the Cullen house about ten minutes later. It was good timing considering it would've taken twenty at human speed. I got out of my car and met with the others.

"Man, Bella, you go fast. You were so close to us we thought you were going to rear end us. Eddie nearly had a panic attack at the thought of you hitting his precious Volvo.

Now I wished I had hit it. Anything that caused the monster discomfort was a good thing.

"Come on, let's go inside. You can meet our mother for all intents and purposes," the monster said before leading the way inside.

"We're home!" Alice called.

"Was that really necessary, Alice? She did hear us come in," Rosalie said.

I heard footsteps come from the stairs and then for the second time that day, I came face to face with another face I recognized. This time it was the face of my father's wife.


	3. Chapter 3

**Bella's POV**

Once again, I felt myself bombarded by a face from my past. What was this 'meet everyone I ever met as a human' day? What was next? The nuns from the orphanage?

Well, at least I didn't feel the blinding hatred I felt for the monster. Quite the opposite actually. Esme had been an important figure in my life. At least as far as I could remember her. My memory of her was a bit fuzzy. All my human memories were kind of fuzzy. In fact, my most vivid memory was of my father's death. Talk about cruel, right?

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of the monster's voice. "Bella, this is Esme, our mother for all intents and purposes."

Okay, that pissed me off. It didn't really bother me with the others, as they all seemed to be decent 'people'. But this was the beast that murdered my father. How dare he play son to his wife?

Esme held her hand out to me. "It's good to meet you, Bella."

Esme obviously didn't recognize me. I wasn't surprised. I looked much different than I did the last time I saw her. See, she 'died' when I was four. I was a far cry from the small child that I was then.

I took Esme's hand. I decided not to tell her who I was just yet. I couldn't explain it, but I just wasn't ready for her to know. Maybe it was because of all homicidal thoughts towards the thing she called 'son' or maybe I just needed time to think about all this. "You too."

"It's always nice to see another vegetarian. Why don't we all go to the living room and talk?" Esme suggested.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Alice said.

I followed them all up the stairs to the living room where we all sat down on the large, wraparound couch. Jasper and Alice sat together, as did Emmett and Rosalie. Esme sat on the other side of Jasper. That left me next to the monster. The universe obviously hated me.

"So tell us about yourself, Bella. I must say, you remind me of someone," Esme said.

I smiled inwardly. It seemed Esme did recognize me on some level, even if she hadn't figured out exactly who I was. "Um, what do you want to know?"

"How did you manage to stay off my radar?" Alice asked curiously.

"Alice!" Esme chastised.

"Well, it's true, I usually would've seen her coming a mile away," Alice said.

"See me?" I asked in confusion.

"Alice gets visions," the monster clarified.

"Oh. Well, you wouldn't have seen me. I'm a shield," I told Alice. I'd always been good at hiding my feelings. When I was human, you could say I put up walls to keep people out. It was a good trait to have when you lived the life I did. When I turned, that trait strengthened and became a shield from other abilities.

"Well, that explains why I couldn't' hear your thoughts," the monster said.

"You read minds?" I asked. Now I was really grateful for my gift. One whiff of my thoughts and I would have him either running for the hills or in fighting stance. My thoughts for him were the picture of homicide.

"Yeah, and Jasper can feel emotions from others and influence them," Alice explained.

"Nice gifts to have," I commented.

"So how long have you been one of us?" Jasper asked.

"Since the 1930s. I had just run away from the orphanage I was living in and I was attacked. The vampire that bit me must have heard something coming because he took off without finishing me off," I explained.

"You lived in an orphanage?" Jasper asked.

I nodded. "Since I was eight. My father was murdered by a vampire in our home. I didn't know that was what he was at the time, but I knew it wasn't human."

"That's awful. Bella, I'm so sorry," Esme said to me sympathetically.

"Thank you," I said. I actually felt more bad for her. I knew who and what had killed my father. Esme didn't. It would kill her when I finally had to tell her that it was someone she called family.

"You didn't have any other family to go to?" Esme asked.

I shook my head. "My stepmother committed suicide when I was four." Yeah, Esme wasn't technically my mother. My mother died when I was born. Esme was prominent in my life though, and if there was a difference between what she was to me and how a mother was supposed to act, I never knew it.

"Sorry. My parents died before me too," the monster said to me.

I repressed the urge to snap his arms off. Like I was going to relate to him. He was the reason I grew up without parents. He may not have killed Esme or my real mother, but he took the only parent I had left.

Soon we all heard the door open, followed by a man with a slight British accent. "I'm home."

"In the living room, dear," Esme said in a normal voice.

A tall man with slicked back blond hair came into the room. He smiled at me. "Hi, you must be Bella."

"Jasper called and told me about you earlier. I called Carlisle, my husband," Esme clarified.

I was slightly surprised to hear that Esme had remarried, but quickly recovered. I stood up and shook the man's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Cullen."

"Just Carlisle, please," he said kindly.

"Carlisle then. Well, I should get going," I said. I was a bit overwhelmed and frankly, I didn't think I could stomach being around my father's killer any longer. Plus, my throat was starting to burn. I needed to hunt."

"Oh, please stay. I can see that you need to feed. We were all planning to go hunting later. You could come with us," Alice said.

"I…I don't know," I said. I really didn't want to have dinner with the monster, but I couldn't think of a plausible reason not to go.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Alice said with a smile that was really hard to say no to.

Jasper smirked. "I'd give up now. Alice almost always gets her way."

I sighed. "Alright, fine, but I have to go home first and change. These are not appropriate clothes to hunt in."

Alice's face lit up at the word 'clothes'. "I can help you with that. Come one, I can find something of mine for you," the hyper pixie said before pulling me out of the room.

I wasn't sure why, but the glint in Alice's eye told me my day was about to get even worse.


	4. Chapter 4

**Bella's POV**

I was in hell. There was no other way to describe it. I was sitting on Alice and Jasper's bed while Alice brought out outfit after outfit for me to try on. That was the very definition of hell for me. Trying on clothes was not my thing. My idea of getting clothes was getting anything I could find in my size and then leaving the store within a half hour.

"Come on, you have to try them on," Alice said.

"Alice, I really, really appreciate this and all, but this whole trying on clothes is not my thing. I hate shopping for this very reason. I loathe it in fact," I told her.

Alice had a shocked and crestfallen look on her face. It was as if I had just killed her puppy. Obviously the whole fashion thing was really, really important to her.

"Y…you loathe shopping?" Alice asked horrified.

"It's nothing personal. It's just not my thing. And besides, we're only going hunting. I'd be better off in a pair of sweats," I said. I'd hoped that that would appease her. It had the opposite reaction. She looked at me like I had grown a second head.

"Sweats? Are you insane? That would be a fashion disaster!" Alice said dramatically.

Much to my delight, at that moment, Esme appeared in the doorway. "Alice, you're not terrorizing the poor girl, are you?"

"Esme, she hates shopping," Alice said as though it was the biggest tragedy in the world.

Esme chuckled. "Alice, not everyone is as enthusiastic as you are."

Just then, I heard soft music playing, but it didn't seem like it was coming from a stereo. "What's that?"

"What's what? Oh, you mean the piano?" Esme asked. She must just be so used to it that she didn't give it a second thought.

I stood up and headed out of the room. I walked towards the living room to see who was playing. I figured it had to be Jasper. Neither Emmett or Rosalie seemed the type to me.

When I walked downstairs, I was surprised to see that it wasn't Jasper, nor was it Emmett or Rosalie. It was _him_. It was the man I'd deemed 'the monster'. He was playing the piano intently. He was quite good at it too. It struck me because I never thought he could be good at anything besides murder.

Before I even realized what I was doing, I was making my way over to his side.

It took him a couple of minutes to notice me, but he finally turned to me. He had a slight embarrassed look on his face. If he was human, he would be blushing. "Oh, hi," he said.

"You're good," I told him. Even I was surprised by my words. They were true of course, but giving my father's killer a complement of any kind was absolutely abhorring.

"Thank you," the monster said.

"How long have you played?" I asked him.

"Since I was a kid. I took lessons when I was human and I continued when I was able to go back to school afterwards too. You like music" he asked.

I shrugged. "Who doesn't?"

"What kind of music do you like?" the monster asked.

"Well, I'm mostly into the deep emo stuff," I told him.

He smiled. "Me too."

Okay, that unnerved me. I wasn't supposed to have anything in common with him. I was nothing like him. He was a monster. He killed people. I could never be like him.

Just then Esme came in with a pair of clothes in her hands. "Here you go, Bella. I figured I'd save you from going back to Alice's craziness."

I took the clothes and smiled at the woman I considered my mother. "Thanks.

"It's no problem. The nearest bathroom is down the hall to the right," Esme said.

"Thanks," I said again before heading towards the bathroom.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later, we were all hunting in the forest. I'd had a mountain lion and a couple of elk.

"Wow, Bella. You and Eddie have the same taste," Emmett said.

I know Emmett hadn't met anything by it, but it really just made me sick. It might just be a little thing, but it was one more thing we seemed to have in common. I didn't want to have anything in common with that… _thing._

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a soft nudge. I turned to see that it was _him. _

"You wanna go for a run?" he asked.

"No thanks," I said. I didn't want to go anywhere with him. I hated him. But apparently he was oblivious to that.

"Come on, I'll race you to the top of that cliff," the monster said before taking off.

Okay, so I was a bit competitive. When someone proposed something such as a race, I had to go, even if it was him. So of course I followed after him. I ran through the trees and up the cliffs as fast as I could. I got there about a second before he did.

He looked at me shocked when he got there. Apparently he didn't think I'd make it before him.

I couldn't help but smirk. "Well, it took you long enough, Edward." Yes, I called him Edward. I couldn't exactly call him 'the monster' to his face.

"Okay, you're good, I'll admit it. I've never met anyone as fast as me," he said.

"Well, everyone has their match." Oh my God, why did I just say that? He was the farthest thing from my match. He was my enemy.

"I think you're right," Edward said with a smile.

I forced myself to look away and stepped towards the edge of the cliff.

"It's nice up here, isn't it?" the monster asked.

"It's not really my thing. I hate cliffs," I said. I always had. It might have something to do with the fact that Esme committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. My father had told me all about it when I asked. It was another of the few memories that was actually clear. How screwed up was that? Most of my clearest memories were the worst ones.

"Don't like heights? You can't get hurt by falling," he teased.

"It's not heights. I just don't like cliffs. Call it a human trauma," I said.

"Oh. You wanna talk about it?" the monster asked.

"No." _'Not with you anyway,' _I added to myself.

"Okay. Listen, can I tell you something?"

"This where you confess all your sins," I asked half serious.

He chuckled. "Nothing so dramatic. It's just, I've felt this connection to you since we met. Have you felt it too?"

"Sure." If by connection he meant an urge to rip all his limbs off, I definitely felt it.

"I think I know what it means, but I like to test it. Would it be alright if I…"

"If you what?" I asked, unsure of what he was planning.

"If I did this," he asked before leaning forward and kissing me.

That's right, my father's killer was _kissing_ me. And God help me, I couldn't stop. It was the most exhilarating kiss I'd ever had. It was almost magnetic. I felt myself losing myself in him.

After a few seconds, my brain caught up to the rest of me. I was kissing the man who murdered my father. No, that could not happen. I couldn't let it continue.

Finally, I pulled away and backed away from him. I looked at him in shock and horror. Horror because I had just betrayed my father by kissing this man and horror because I was beginning to realize the connection he spoke of. It was just something that as a vampire I knew. This man, my father's murderer, was my freaking mate!

"Bella, are you okay?" He'd obviously realized I was less than pleased.

I shook my head wildly. "No. No!" I screamed loudly before running off through the trees.


	5. Chapter 5

**Edward's POV**

It had been two days since my kiss with Bella. Two days since she ran off without even talking to me. Needless to say I was upset. I hadn't been expecting that reaction. I thought Bella felt what I felt. I thought she felt the connection between us. She should've. The bond between mates was equal.

And Bella was my mate. If I didn't know that before I kissed her, I certainly knew it afterwards. The connection was almost magnetic. It was stronger than anything I'd ever felt in my life. So it was hard to believe Bella didn't feel the same thing. No, Bella did feel the same thing. I saw it in her eyes.

There was only one reason I could think of for Bella pulling away from me. She'd asked me when we met if I'd always been a vegetarian. I was ashamed to tell her that I hadn't. Could that be the reason she pulled away?

I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I looked up and saw that it was Esme.

Esme immediately walked in. "Alright, what's going on, Edward? You've been particularly depressed for days."

I shrugged my shoulders and looked down.

Esme came over and sat next to me on my couch. She didn't say anything, she just waited for me to talk.

It took me a minute, but I finally did. "It's Bella. She's my mate."

"Oh my God, Edward, that's wonderful. We told you you'd find her eventually," Esme said with a smile on her face. Her thoughts reflected how happy she was for me.

"But I don't think she wants me for a mate. I kissed her the other day when we were all hunting. She screamed and ran away from me, and I haven't seen her since," I said sadly.

"Well, maybe she was just caught off guard. She probably just needs some time to figure things out," Esme said. She was always the optimist.

"I don't think that's it. I thought I imagined it, but that day she would look at me and just for a second it seemed like she was disgusted by me," I told her. I got those looks a couple of times that day, but at the time, I thought it really was just in my head.

"Oh, I think you must have imagined that, Edward. How could anyone possibly be disgusted by you?" Esme said.

"Well, when we met, she asked me if I was always a vegetarian. I didn't lie. I think maybe the reason she pulled away is because she can't be with a monster like me," I said.

Esme growled and sent me a glare. "Edward Anthony Cullen! I never want to hear you refer to yourself as that again! You are not a monster. What you did was wrong, I won't say it wasn't, but it's not as if you attacked the innocent. You hurt people who hurt others and you feel guilty about it."

Esme was wrong. I did hurt an innocent person. I hadn't intended to, but I did. The first person I killed was her former husband. I wanted him to pay for what he did to her. I had felt very justified when I killed him. That was until I noticed the little girl peering into the room. I would never forget that girl. Her blood was the sweetest and appetizing thing I'd ever smelled. It took everything I had not to attack. Not that I hadn't already done enough to her. I murdered her father. And for that reason alone, I was a monster.

I never told Esme this though. She would never forgive me if she knew. I didn't know exactly what my adoptive mother's relationship with the girl was, but I knew she had to mean something to her. It was Esme after all. She would never forgive me for destroying that kid's life. Hell, I would never forgive myself for it.

"Look, Edward, instead of trying to come up with theories for why Bella ran off, why don't you ask her about it?" Esme asked.

"I'd like to, but she hasn't been around," I told her.

Esme gave me a look. "Are you a vampire or not. Track her scent. Even you should be able to find her while she's in Forks."

I smiled at the comment. I was horrible at tracking and Esme knew. But she was right. She had to be somewhat close by, so I should be able to find her. The problem was I was worried about what I would find. What if I was right? What if she truly hated me because of what I did? "What if she doesn't want anything to do with me?"

"I don't think you have to worry about that. If she is your mate, she won't be able to fight the connection between you for long. Either way, you won't know until you talk to her." Esme said.

I smiled and stood up. "You're right. Thanks. I'm gonna go now," I told her before rushing out before I lost my nerve.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

I tracked Bella to a small house a few miles from school. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Bella opened the door seconds later. She obviously hadn't expected to see me. She didn't look too happy to see me either. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, I thought we should talk," I said nervously.

"Well, I guess you can't take a hint. I don't wanna talk to you," Bella said before preparing to shut the door in my face.

I put my arm in the door to stop her. "Bella, please, just give me a few moments of your time. If you still don't want anything to do with me, I'll leave and I won't bother you again."

Bella looked at me for a minute. She seemed to contemplate what she should do. Then she opened the door fully and let me in.

"Thank you," I said as I walked inside.

"Say what you want," Bella told me.

"Look, I'm sorry if I overstepped the other day. I thought you'd be okay with me kissing you. I felt this connection to you and I thought you had felt it too." I still think she felt it. She had to. But I wouldn't bring up the whole mate thing just yet. "I wish I'd had been able to hear your thoughts. Then I would've known you wouldn't be happy about it."

"You wouldn't like my thoughts," Bella told me.

I wasn't sure what she meant by that, but I decided not to dwell on it. "The thing is, when I kissed you, I know you kissed me back. I don't understand why you pushed me away. Is it because of what I told you earlier that day about me having tasted human blood. You consider me a monster?"

Bella just stared at me for a minute before uttering the one word I dreaded to hear. "Yes."

I couldn't help but flinch. I was hoping I had been wrong about that. I couldn't blame her though. I considered me a monster too. "Okay, I can understand that. I've done some horrible things. I know that. And it doesn't make it right, but I want you to know that I've never killed an innocent person."

My words just seemed to make her angry. "You what?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"No, it's not an excuse. I'm just trying to tell you how it was. The people I killed were criminals. Murderers, rapists, batterers. Those are the kinds of people I killed," I told her.

What happened next was so quick and unexpected. Bella's eyes turned as Black as can be and she growled viciously at me. And the next thing I knew, I was being thrown into a wall.


	6. Chapter 6

**Bella's POV**

I was held up in my house. I hadn't left since I got back the other night. I couldn't deal with what happened that night. How could I? The monster that murdered my father was my mate. How was I supposed to deal with that? I hated him. I'd hated him since the moment I laid eyes on him all those years ago. I dreamed of killing him.

I still dreamed of killing him, but ever since kissing him, I imagined doing… other things to him. Things that didn't involve causing him harm. It made me sick just thinking about it. It was disgusting. It was horrible. It was an insult to my father's memory. How could someone like that be my other half?

No, he wasn't. I wouldn't let him be. I didn't care what vampire mating said, I would never be that with Edward Cullen. I hated him. No matter what else, that was true. I would captivate on that. I would force myself to remember the day my father died every day if I had to. I would not forget what that monster had done.

Soon I was pulled from my thoughts by a knock at the door.

I immediately stood up from my living room couch and walked through the kitchen to the door. When I opened the door I was surprised and dismayed to find _him _there. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, I thought we should talk," the monster also known as Edward said.

"Well, I guess you can't take a hint. I don't wanna talk to you," I said before going to slam the door in his face. He placed his arm in the middle to stop me though.

"Bella, please, just give me a few moments of your time. If you still don't want anything to do with me, I'll leave and I won't bother you again," the monster that seemed intent on plaguing my life said.

I really wanted to slam the door in his face, but on the off chance that he would keep his promise and leave me alone, I decided to listen. So I opened the door and allowed him to come in. "Say what you want."

"Look, I'm sorry if I overstepped the other day. I thought you'd be okay with me kissing you. I felt this connection to you and I thought you felt it too," he said.

I cringed inwardly. I did feel it. That was the problem. I wasn't supposed to feel anything but hate for this man, yet I felt this other emotion creep up inside me too. Hate was still there and it was still dominant, but it wasn't alone.

"I wish I'd been able to hear your thoughts. Then I would've known you wouldn't be happy about it," he continued.

"You wouldn't like my thoughts," I told him. It was the truth. He'd be very disturbed by most of my thoughts about him. After all, who enjoyed seeing the different fantasies of their death in someone else's head?

"The thing is, when I kissed you, I know you kissed me back. I don't understand why you pushed me away. Is it because of what I told you earlier that day about me having tasted human blood. You consider me a monster?"

That was an interesting choice of words for him to use. It almost had me wondering if he could read my mind. That was exactly how I considered him. Even in my mind, I didn't think of him as Edward, I thought of him as the monster, even now.

I considered keeping up the charade, but I didn't have it in me. I wanted him to know how much I hated him and why I would never be with him, despite the connection we unfortunately shared. "Yes."

I watched as he flinched slightly. "Okay, I can understand that. I've done some horrible things. I know that. And it doesn't make it right, but I want you to know that I've never killed an innocent person."

"You what?" I asked angrily. I couldn't believe he even had the gall to say that. He was actually claiming my father wasn't innocent. I should kill him right there.

"No, it's not an excuse. I'm just trying to tell you how it was. The people I killed were criminals. Murderers, rapists, batterers. Those are the kinds of people I killed," the monster said.

It was at that point that I lost all reasoning and saw red. I growled loudly and grabbed him by the shirt before propelling him into the nearest wall. He hit and fell to the floor.

The monster looked at me wide-eyed. He obviously didn't expect such a violent reaction.

I wasn't done with him though. I was going to make him wish he never uttered those vicious words. I flashed over to him in seconds and pulled him up by the neck. "How dare you, you soulless bastard?!" I asked angrily before effortlessly tossing him through the air once more.

He landed on my dining room table, splitting it in the process. He immediately started to get up. "Bella, I…"

"You murderous bastard! You dare classify my father as a murderer, a rapist?" I asked angrily.

"I… What?" the monster asked me in dumbfounded tone.

"You don't remember me, do you, Edward? Well, I remember you. I've spent the better part of the last century plotting your death. Before I knew what you were, my ideas were very creative. Now I just think about burning your body parts slowly."

"I don't understand. Why?"

I looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Why? Because you murdered my father, you son of a bitch!"

"I…"

"And then you had the nerve to play son to his wife!" I continued angrily.

The soulless monster's face changed from baffled to realization and guilt. He knew now. He knew who I was.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

**Edward's POV**

When Bella accused me of killing her father, I was shocked and confused. I knew her father had been murdered by a vampire because she told the family that when she was at the house the other day, but why would she think I had been that vampire.

Then she mentioned Esme being her father's wife and I knew. My mind flashed back to that night. The night I'd taken my first human life while the man's young daughter watched. It was Bella. She was the little girl whose life I ruined. No wonder she hated me. No wonder she didn't want to be with me. Mate or no mate, I was the man who took her father away.

"Cat got your tongue?" Bella asked me angrily.

"Bella, I…" I trailed off. I didn't know what to say. What was there to say? Sorry? Like that would make any difference to her.

"What? You're sorry? You're a liar. You just tried to explain away your murderous actions by calling my father and everyone else you murdered a criminal. My father was not a criminal. My father was a good man!" Bella told me angrily.

I knew that was not true. That man was an abusive bastard. But I couldn't tell Bella that. For one, I was pretty sure she would kill me if I tried, and two, I'd already taken her father away. The least I could do is let her keep her illusions about him. They weren't hurting anyone after all. "I am sorry. And I do remember you."

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

I nodded. "I couldn't forget you anymore than you could forget me. I didn't know you were there. I didn't know you even existed until I saw you."

"So that makes it okay?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"No, of course not. But I wouldn't have done it if I'd known," I told her honestly. If I had known that man had a kid, I never would've gone after him. I wanted him to pay for hurting Esme, but I didn't want to cause an innocent child pain.

"You ruined my life. You took the only parent I had left!" She yelled at me.

I felt so guilty I could barely stand it. I'd barely managed to keep the guilt at bay all these years. Now that she was right in front of me, there was no keeping it away. "I'm sorry."

"I hate you! I want to kill you, but because the universe has some kind of sick sense of humor, you're my God damned mate! So I can't kill you. But I'll be damned if I'll ever be with you. I'd rather spend eternity alone than be with the likes of you. Now get the hell out of my house!" she screamed at me.

I looked at her for a minute and then walked out the door. I'd hurt Bella enough. The least I could do was leave her n peace.

Once outside I took a couple of deep breaths to prepare myself for what came next. It wasn't over, not by a long shot. Now I had to tell Esme the truth. She needed to know so she could maybe help Bella. I just hoped she could forgive me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Esme's POV**

I was in the living room cleaning. Apparently teenagers were just bound to be messy, whether they were human or not. I thought about waiting for the boys to come home and make them clean it, as it was mostly their doing, but I just hated to leave a mess.

Just as I finished vacuuming, I felt a pair of arms wrap around them. I immediately smiled as I realized it was my very loving husband. Marriage the second time had been much better to me. The first had been a nightmare. Charles had been a very hard and violent man. The only bright spot had been his beautiful daughter, whom I'd quickly regarded as my own.

My God I missed her. I loved my life and my vampire children as though they were my very own, but a piece of me would always be with my first daughter, just as a piece of me went with my son when he died. There were just some holes that couldn't be filled by anything.

Carlisle soon pulled me from my thoughts. "Hello, my darling."

"Hello to you too, Doctor Cullen," I said with a smile.

"Is it my imagination or are we alone?" Carlisle asked me flirtatiously.

"It is definitely not your imagination," I told him in the same tone of voice.

"Hmm. Interesting," he said as he began to kiss me softly on the neck.

Soon I heard the front door open. I sighed. "Correction, we _were_ alone."

"Esme!" I heard Edward call out to me.

"In the living room," I said before entangling myself from my wonderful husband.

Edward came into the room a few moments later. He looked very somber and guilty.

"Is everything alright, son?" Carlisle asked.

"I…I need to talk to Esme for a bit. Alone," Edward said.

I looked at him with concern. "Edward, what's wrong?"

"Please, I just really need to talk to you alone," Edward said. The tone in his voice was scaring me. He sounded like whatever he had to say was going to be the end of life as he knew it. It really worried me.

Carlisle looked at me as if to ask permission for him to leave. It wasn't that he didn't trust Edward to be alone with me. He was just worried about the two of us and what Edward could possibly say that he couldn't be there for.

"Go," I told him. Whatever was going on, Edward obviously wanted to tell me alone. I would give him that opportunity.

"I'll be in my office if either of you need me," he said before walking out of the room.

I immediately took Edward's hand and led him over to the couch, where we both sat down.

Edward looked down at his lap. It was like he couldn't bring himself to look at me.

"Edward, talk to me. What's going on? Did something happen when you went to find Bella?" I asked him.

"Yeah, something happened. I had to face my past. I had to face what I did to her. She'll never forgive me," Edward said in devastated tone.

"Forgive you for what?" I asked in confusion. Edward had only known Bella for a couple of days. What could he possibly have done that would require her forgiveness?

Edward shook his head sadly. I was sure if he could, he would be crying right now. "I did something terrible."

"Did you have a slip?" I asked him. It had been a very long time since Edward took a human life and usually he had pretty good control, but it was the only explanation I could come up with for how upset he was.

"No. I wish it were that simple. What I did was intentional. It was calculated. This was a long time ago, when I rebelled. I know I should've told you a long time ago, but I couldn't bring myself to. I knew you'd see that what I've been saying for years is the truth. I'm a monster," he said.

Okay, now I was really worried. I thought I knew about everything Edward did during his rebellion years. I knew he killed others. What could he have done that he thought was worse than that? Whatever it was, I couldn't imagine that it would cause me to look at him any different. Nothing could do that.

"But now I don't have a choice. You're the only person that might be able to help, Bella. I owe her that much," he continued.

"Hold on, I'm confused. How does what happened during your rebellion have anything to do with Bella? You didn't even know her then," I said to him. I wasn't even sure if Bella was alive then. That's how long it had been.

"But I did see her once. What's more is she saw me," Edward said miserably.

"Oh, she saw you kill someone? Is that why you think she can't forgive you?" I asked. Though that didn't explain why Edward thought I couldn't forgive him. That was still a mystery to me.

Edward shook his head. "No, not exactly. It was who I killed that."

"Edward, just say it. Whatever it is, it'll be okay," I promised him.

He shook his head once more. "No, it won't. She hates me and she has every right to. I didn't mean to hurt her. I just wanted him to suffer."

"I gather we're talking about the man you killed," I guessed.

Edward nodded. "I wanted him to pay for what he did to you."

Okay, that got my attention. This man was someone I knew? Someone who hurt me? I only knew one person who fit that description well enough for Edward to kill him. "Oh my God. Edward, please tell me you didn't."

Edward finally looked up at me. When he did, his eyes were filled with even more shame and guilt than they held before. It was all the answer I needed. Edward killed my husband.

"I…I'm sorry. I just wanted him to pay for hurting you," he said.

"When? When did I ever give the impression that it would be okay for you to kill in my name?" I asked. I never wanted that. I never wanted anyone to die because of me, not even Charles.

"Never. I…I just saw the way what he did to you affected you and I wanted him to suffer the way you were," Edward said.

I immediately got up and crossed the room. I started pacing the room as I tried to think. Edward had killed my husband. He'd taken a life in my name. How was I supposed to handle that? I didn't want to be the cause for someone else's death.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I realized something. My stepdaughter had to have still been young when her father was killed. That meant she had nobody when she was growing up. She was all alone. I'd 'died' years earlier and then her father was murdered.

Finally an even more disturbing realization dawned on me. Edward mentioned that Bella had witnessed Charles' death. And Bella was the name of the little girl I helped to raise for years. "Oh my God. Bella."

I turned back to Edward to see that he had bowed his head once more. "Bella told us that she witnessed her father's murder by a vampire. That vampire was you?"

Edward nodded slowly and looked at me again.

"My God, Edward! Do you have any idea what you've done?!" I asked loudly. He'd essentially ruined Bella's life. It broke my heart because Bella was so important to me. I loved her so much. It killed me to think about her seeing something so horrific.

"I'm sorry. I swear, I didn't know she was there," Edward told me.

I believed that. I knew Edward would never knowingly kill a man in front of his child. But what Edward meant to happen was irrelevant. "But she was there. You killed a man in front of his daughter. And when you realized what you did, instead of coming to me so that I could help her, you hid it!" I wasn't deluded into thinking I could've possibly taken Bella back then. My thirst was way too much for that. But I could've at least made sure she was okay.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"I have to find Bella," I said. Bella had to be my priority right now. I had to find her and talk to her. She needed me.

I headed for the stairs but stopped at the last second to look at Edward. "Edward, I love you. I really do, but I can't even fathom how you could do this. I…I just don't know," I said before finally leaving.


	8. Chapter 8

**Bella's POV **

After the murdering bastard left, I went hunting. I wasn't really thirsty, but I was angry as hell. If I didn't get out and tear something apart, I was going to end up destroying everything in my house. So I drank from a few elk and a grizzly and then ripped a few trees from their roots.

Once I was done, I went home. When I got there, I was surprised to find Esme on the porch waiting for me. "Esme."

Esme just looked at me for a moment before coming over to me and pulling me into a tight embrace.

I was caught off guard at first, but soon returned the hug. She knew. That was obvious. She was hugging me the same way she would when I was a small child. She knew who I was. I wasn't sure how she knew though. That monster wouldn't tell her, would he? No, of course not. Then he'd after to admit what he really was.

Esme pulled away after a minute and I avoided her eyes. "You know."

Esme gently lifted my chin, forcing me to look at her. "Yeah, I know. I think we should talk."

I nodded and led the way into my house. I then led the way into the living room. "Have a seat."

Esme smiled and sat down on the couch.

I sat next to her, but looked away. I wasn't sure what to say. What did you say to the stepmother who hadn't seen you as you were in several decades, and who played mother to your father's killer? Did she know that yet or did she just know who I was?

Esme finally broke the silence. "I know about what happened with Edward."

I couldn't help the growl that escaped from me. Just the mention of _him_ made me furious. I hated that man with almost everything in me. Unfortunately, the small part of me that didn't hate him wanted to love him.

"I know. You have every right to be angry with Edward," Esme told me.

I growled again and finally turned to Esme. "Angry with him? I hate him!"

"It's understandable," Esme said as she put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"He killed him. I watched him kill Daddy. I used to dream about it. That monster haunted me every night for years," I told her. If it was possible for vampires to cry, I knew I would be in tears right now.

I felt Esme put her arm around me. "I'm sorry, honey. I would've given anything to spare you rom that. No one should ever have to see their father killed in such a way."

"How did you find out?" I asked.

"Edward told me. He told me when he got home today. I want you to know that I did not know before today. I knew that he had killed before, but I never knew that Charles was one of them," Esme told me.

"If you knew what he'd done, why did you let him stay. How could you play mother to a monster like him?" I asked. I then watched as my stepmother cringed at the term I used. I wasn't sure why though. That was what he was.

"Bella, I understand why you think that. All you knew of Edward for a long time was his actions the night your father died," Esme said.

"You mean the night _Edward_ killed him." I spat his name out with venom. I really didn't like using his name. Using his name made him sound like a person and I didn't consider him a person.

"I don't condone what Edward has done. What he did was wrong. There's no justifying it," Esme said.

"Why do I hear a 'but' coming?" I asked in disbelief. Was Esme really going to defend this monster after everything he had done. I was so sure that when Esme learned the truth she would side with me. That she would kick him out of her life forever. But that didn't seem where she was going with this.

"Edward is not the monster you think he is."

"How can you even say that?!" I asked as I stood up angrily.

"Listen to me, I know how horrible Edward's actions were. He knows it too. He has felt extreme guilt over the years for the things he's done. The things you say about him, he says the same about himself," Esme said calmly.

"Yeah, right," I scoffed. Although, when I thought back to earlier, he had called himself a monster. That had thrown me a bit. But then later he excused his actions by saying that the people he killed deserved to die.

"It's true, honey. He hates himself for the things he's done. Mostly though, he hates himself for the pain he caused you," Esme said.

"He excused it! He told me he only killed criminals! He lumped my father in with rapists and murderers! I know that's a lie!" I practically yelled.

"Please come sit back down," Esme requested before reaching for me.

I gave her my hand and sat back down on the couch. Esme didn't let go after were back side by side.

"Okay, you're right, your father wasn't a rapist or a murderer. But there is something I need to tell you about him. I never intended for you to know this, but there's little choice now. I won't have you hurting yourself by fighting your mate because I hid this," Esme said firmly.

"I will _never_ be with him, Esme. Never!" I growled.

"Look, you just need to listen to me for a second, okay? There were things going on in our house that I didn't let you see. Things no child should ever have to see," Esme said. Her voice was quiet and she looked like she would be in tears if she was human.

"Like what? Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure I've seen worse," I told her. Seeing my father murdered had to be worse than whatever Esme was afraid for me to have seen.

"First, I want you to know that your father loved you very much. It was the best quality he had," Esme said.

"You're scaring me," I told her. I didn't know what she was trying to tell me, but something told me it wasn't good.

Esme sighed. "Your father had a nasty temper. It got the better of him sometimes. Actually, it got the better of him a lot of times. And angry words weren't always enough. He, uh… He would get violent."

I just stared at her for a second in disbelief. I had heard her words of course, but somehow they took a few seconds to make it to my brain and allow me to process them. Once they did, I was flabbergasted by them. My father a batterer? No. No, that couldn't be true. "Why are you saying this?"

"Because it's the truth," Esme said.

"No, it's not!" I yelled as I pulled my hand away from here and stood up once more. "You're lying. You're trying to protect _him._"

"No, sweetheart, I'm not. I would not lie to you about something like this. I wouldn't hurt you that way," Esme told me.

"No, I would've known," I said. If my father had done something so horrible, I would've known about it.

"I didn't let you know, Bella. I didn't want you to know. I wanted you to grow up thinking your father was a good man," Esme said.

"He was! He loved me!" I yelled. I was so angry. Why was she doing this? Why was lying to me? Was I right? Was it for that monster? And if not then why? Why was she doing this to me?"

Esme stood up from the couch. "Yes, he did. No matter what he may have done to me, he loved you with all his heart."

"Get out!" I growled angrily. I was not going to listen to these vicious lies anymore. If Esme insisted on telling them, she could leave.

"Bella, please…"

"I said leave!" I screamed.

Esme flinched a bit, but she covered the hurt up quickly. "I love you, Bella. No matter what, please no that," she said before walking away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Edward's POV**

After Esme left, I just sat on the couch and drowned in my own misery. I'd never been more ashamed of myself in my life, not even when I actually killed Bella's father. Which is saying a lot because I was plenty ashamed when I looked into her brown eyes that night after taking away her only parent. But it was different then. Back then, she was a just a child that I had no past connection to. She still haunted me and I could never forget, but it was different now that I knew her. Now that I had a connection to her that was considered the strongest there was in the vampire world.

Man, the world had a twisted sense of humor. I had killed Bella's father and now I was Bella's mate. If that wasn't twisted, I didn't know what was. She felt the same way, I knew, except that she hated it. She was disgusted by me, disgusted by the fact that we were mates. I couldn't blame her for it. If someone had killed my only parent, I would hate them too.

I was soon pulled from my thoughts as I heard someone approach. I turned to see Carlisle in the doorway.

"Son, are you alright?" Carlisle asked.

I didn't answer. I just looked away ashamed.

Carlisle walked over and sat down next to me. "Edward, what is it?"

"She hates me," I said quietly.

"Bella?" Carlisle asked me.

"Well, yeah, her too, but I was talking about Esme." Esme had told me she loved me before she left, but I knew she couldn't have meant it. I had destroyed her daughter's life. That was how she saw Bella, I knew. I knew she would never forgive me.

"Edward, that is ridiculous. Your mother loves you very much. How can you even think otherwise?" Carlisle asked in disbelief.

"I told her. I told her what I did to her husband." I had never told Esme about what I did until tonight, but I told Carlisle right after I returned home. He agreed not to say anything. He said that he didn't think it would do much good for her to know. Of course that was because I hadn't told him about Bella. His decision probably would've been different if I had.

"You did? Why? Why now?" Carlisle asked.

"Because of Bella," I said before finally looking at him. "Bella was his daughter. She was there that night. She saw me do it."

"You didn't tell me that," Carlisle said with a slight edge to his voice.

"How could I? What I did was evil. I took Bella's father from her. I killed him right in front of her. I could never tell you that. I knew you'd hate me," I said miserably before looking away again.

Things were quiet for a few moments. Then I felt Carlisle's hand on my shoulder. "I don't hate you, son. I can't say I'm happy with what you did, but I know that you couldn't have seen her. You wouldn't have done it otherwise."

I turned to him again and shook my head vigorously. "I wouldn't have. I swear I wouldn't have."

"I wish you would've told me. This has been eating you up inside this entire time, hasn't it?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded. "I tried to forget about it, but I couldn't. For so long, every time I would close my eyes I would see that little girl. After a while though, I was able to push it back. I did my best not to think about what happened, but now I know."

Carlisle sighed. "Yes, this must be difficult for Bella to handle. I assume Esme has gone to see her."

"Yeah. She left right after I told her. She was horrified about it," I said quietly.

"Edward, listen to me. I'm sure your mother was upset, but she loves you very much. Nothing could change that," Carlisle said.

"That's what she said essentially, but how can she? I killed Bella's father right in front of her. I am a monster."

"You're not a monster."

I turned to see Esme in the doorway.

Carlisle immediately got up to greet her. "Are you alright, Darling?"

"Not especially, no," Esme said before walking over to me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me up. "Look at me, Edward."

Having had my head pointed down to my feet, I reluctantly looked up at my mother.

Esme put her hands on my shoulders. "What you did was wrong. I don't think I have to tell you that. You already know that. But what I need to tell you is that you should've told me the moment it happened, so that I could've done something to help Bella. Because you didn't, she grew up in a way that no child should ever have to. She had no one to care about her."

"I'm sorry," I said remorsefully. When I thought about the pain I caused Bella, it made me wanna die. The guilt and the remorse crushed me. I wished with everything in me that there was a way to fix it, but there wasn't.

"I know you are. I can't say that it's okay because it's not. But I love you, Edward. I will always love you," she said before pulling me into her arms.

I wrapped my arms around her and held on tight. I would be crying now if I was physically capable. I believed Esme when she said she loved me. That just made want to cry even more. I was glad that she didn't hate me, but at the same time, I didn't feel I deserved her love.

Esme pulled away after a second. "You understand what I've just said, right? I love you."

I nodded. "But why?"

"Because DNA aside, you're my son. Nothing will ever change that," Esme said firmly.

"Edward, I think you could benefit from a hunt," Carlisle said.

I nodded. I wasn't too thirsty, but I was upset and hunting helped with that. "Yeah, I think you're right. I'll go," I said before walking out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

**Esme's POV**

After Edward left, I felt Carlisle's hand on my shoulder. I immediately turned and collapsed into his arms. After the day I'd had, I needed the comfort of my husband.

"It's okay, Darling," Carlisle said lovingly.

"She didn't believe me, Carlisle. I told her what he did to me and she didn't believe me," I said. I couldn't deny that it hurt. Bella meant so much to me. When she was little, we were so close. It hurt that she wouldn't believe me.

Carlisle pulled away. "Darling, she probably just needs time to digest the information."

I shook my head. "She flat out said that I was lying. She thinks I'm trying to protect Edward. I guess I can't really blame her though. Bella's never known her father's anger. To her, he's always been this loving man that loved and protected her. Now he's dead and unable to defend himself. Why wouldn't she have trouble believing it? It still hurts though."

"She's probably in denial. She will come to realize the truth," Carlisle said.

I sighed. "I think I need a hunt myself."

"Do you want me to join you?" Carlisle asked.

"No. I need to be alone right now," I said before leaving the room.


End file.
